A catheter is a tube that can be inserted in the body to treat diseases or perform a surgical procedure. Catheters can be inserted into a body cavity, duct, or vessel. Catheters allow drainage, administration of fluids or gases, access by surgical instruments, and can perform a wide variety of other tasks. By modifying the material or adjusting catheter-manufacturing processes, it is possible to tailor catheters for cardiovascular, urological, gastrointestinal, neurovascular, ophthalmic, and the like applications.
In many instances, a catheter is a thin, flexible tube although catheters are available in varying levels of stiffness depending on the application. An indwelling catheter is a catheter left inside the body, either temporarily or permanently. A catheter is a type of medical line, which can include fluid transport channels such as feeding tubes, drains, intravenous lines, and the like. However, patients having medical lines can be susceptible to infection.